Ducklings using plant-based transportation
On a visit to a wonderful place in Dublin called Airfield (I invite you to do a search to find out all about Airfield), I passed the lily pond and saw a sign which had been put up on behalf of the ducks. The sign said, “please do not feed us bread scraps. It upsets our stomachs.” My grandchildren asked for an explanation. So, I took the opportunity to give them a little lesson in ecology, compassion for animals, and the annoying habit of humans to imagine that we are the centre of the universe. You can see that I am a fun granny. With all of this in mind, I wrote them a poem. The places mentioned in the poem are local, and well-known to the children.
BIRDS ARE PEOPLE TOO
A swan came down from Bushy park
to shop on Rathmines Road,
she’d heard, you see, about a place
that sold delicious food,
she parked her car quite skilfully
along a yellow line
that matched her beak
and small webbed feet
then stepping out
peering about
she said
my stars,
how absolutely marvellous
these painted roads
and bright red lights
that start and stop the motor cars
just then she saw a uniform, and
‘Scuse me miss you can’t stop here’
said not unkindly
though in his mind he
thought it odd
to see a bird driving a jeep
but Gardai training nowadays
prevented him from saying so
and as he watched
the town hall clock struck
and off the number fifteen bus
there hopped a duck
dressed to the nines
designer glasses, Hermes scarf
and Gucci golden chain mail purse
that glistered as she moved
then swan and duckling
quackly waddling
loudly clucking
to the store
for bread,
organic, brown and gluten free
and Garda Murphy
heard them say
we’ll have to do this every day
until the folk around these parts
stop feeding us
their bleached white crusts
and old jam tarts
and scraps of stuff, but hopefully
a day will come when they will see
that birds are people too.
CGK
